Haematological studies on normal lactating Indian water buffaloes

Haematological studies were conducted on 50 clinically normal lactating Murrah buffaloes in India. The range and mean (with one standard deviation), respectively, for the parameters examined were: red blood cells, 5.07 to 8.27, 6.54 +/- 0.77 million per microliter; haemoglobin, 9 to 13.5, 11.1 +/- 0.96 g/dl; packed cell volume, 0.26 to 0.34, 0.31 +/- 0.02; mean corpuscular volume, 40.6 to 55.2, 48.2 +/- 4.6 fl; mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, 30.9 to 38.5, 35.2 +/- 2.34 g/dl; mean corpuscular haemoglobin, 13.5 to 20.5, 17.10 +/- 1.85 pg; icterus index, 2 to 5, 2 +/- 1.25 units; erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 17 to 69, 53 +/- 12.3 mm at one hour; plasma protein, 6 to 9, 7.8 +/- 0.7 g/dl; fibrinogen, 0.2 to 0.8, 0.37 +/- 0.2 g/dl; reticulocytes, 0 per cent; white blood cells, 6250 to 13,050, 9676 +/- 1789 microliters; band cells, 0 to 1, 0.2 +/- 0.34 or 0 to 106, 18 +/- 40/microliters; neutrophils, 13 to 54, 32.9 +/- 8.74 per cent or 1285 to 6893, 3257 +/- 1262/microliters; lymphocytes, 26 to 75, 52.7 +/- 12.0 per cent or 2554 to 9637, 5065 +/- 1595/microliters; monocytes 1 to 11.5, 5.9 +/- 2.63 per cent or 63 to 1349, 584 +/- 301/microliters; eosinophils, 2 to 14.0, 6.9 +/- 4.64 per cent or 170 to 1471, 592 +/- 452/microliters and basophils, 0 to .5, 1.4 +/- 1.02 per cent or 0 to 326, 131 +/- 98 microliters. Normal species characteristics evident from this investigation included average size of the erythrocytes similar to that in cattle, low icterus index, conspicuous erythrocyte sedimentation rate, absence of reticulocytes and predominance of lymphocytes over neutrophils.